And at Homewood Field, Johns Hopkins and Loyola met in a game with big postseason implications. It's a game that Loyola won — breaking a long losing skid to the Jays — and put the Jays in danger of missing the postseason.

Loyola 8, Johns Hopkins 4

A cheer went up from the west end of the north bleacher at Homewood Field at about 3:50 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Then another. Then another.

Each time the Greyhounds cleared after a Blue Jay turnover or Jack Runkel save in the last three minutes of the fourth quarter, the wait — what had been a 14-year wait since a Dave Cottle-coach Loyola team last beat Johns Hopkins in 1999 — got a little bit shorter. As the ’Hounds killed the clock and ran toward their student section to celebrate, the 7,905 fans in attendance saw a team used to making history write a bit more.

“What really felt cool about [the closing minutes] is that there were so many alumni and loyal fans that have just been waiting so long for this,” Loyola senior longstick middie and second-year captain Scott Ratliff said of the Greyhounds’ 8-4 win. “It felt really good to be on the team that got them that win that I felt meant so much to the school.”

In getting the win, Loyola followed a familiar recipe — nice shooting from Mike Sawyer (who finished with three goals and has 11 in the last thee games), nice tempo in transition (shortstick d-middie Josh Hawkins had a goal, an assist, four shots and hit the post once) and stifling defense (Hopkins shot 11% and scored only two goals in the last 52:30).

“We talked about it in our locker room — these are the type of games that there are a lot of things that are going on outside of the field, whether it be Senior Day and you’re off your timeline, or the fans or the TV — it was a great environment to play in,” said Loyola coach Charley Toomey, whose Greyhounds now turn their attention to Ohio State in the ECAC Semifinals.

On the opposite sideline, the loss was a crushing blow to a Johns Hopkins team that, at 8-5, is very much in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1971.

“Very frustrated,” coach Dave Pietramala said to open his postgame comments, a theme he echoed over the next 10 minutes. Hopkins won the face-off battle 11-15, picked three more groundballs than Loyola (including 11 more in the second half) and took eight more shots. But the Blue Jays repeatedly failed to execute between the poor shooting and turnovers; Hopkins turned the ball over 16 times, including seven in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a stretch of four turnovers in settled offense to open the final frame.

“We’ll let the chips fall where they may and let people decide what happens to us,” Pietramala said. “There are expectations placed on you here. Our expectations are to make the NCAA playoffs and compete for a national championship. I am disappointed we find ourselves in this position. I am frustrated we find ourselves in this position.”

The loss wasn’t limited to the Jays’ record, either. In pregame prep, after Hopkins had returned to the locker room then come back onto the field before introductions, shortstick d-middie Phil Castronova tore his Achilles’ tendon while jumping in a team huddle. The junior missed all of last season after tearing his ACL in the fall of 2011 and likely would receive a waiver granting him two years of eligibility after this season.

For the remained of the squad, Hopkins has to hope the season doesn’t end next week vs. Army, but with an RPI of 17, a Top 10 win in Maryland and Top 20 win in Virginia, Hopkins’ resume doesn’t compare favorably team to the other bubble teams competing for eight at-large bids.

Loyola, on the other hand, is focused on the ECAC AQ Ratliff said postgame, noting that a league championship could yield another home game in the NCAA Tournament first round.

Check InsideLacrosse.com Monday for the latest update of IL’s Bracketology.

— Terry Foy

Penn State 16, Hofstra 7

It was a do-or-die situation for Hofstra. A win would see them through to the CAA tournament while a loss would end their season. For Penn State, it was just another game for one of the best teams in the country. The Nittany Lions outplayed the Pride on both ends of the field and won their regular-season finale 16-7.
“We’re in this position because they’ve kept things in perspective: one game at a time,” said head coach Jeff Tambroni, whose squad finished 11-3 overall and a perfect 6-0 in conference play. They are currently on an eight-game winning streak and have won 11-straight on the road.

“We played great team offense in the second have and moved the ball very well,” said Jack Forster, who finished with five goals and six points.

Meanwhile, Saturday's defeat spelled the end for Hofstra’s season. They finish 7-7 overall and 2-4 in the CAA. They have now missed the conference tournament for the third time in four years.

“It’s a rollercoaster of a year with the highs of some very good wins, including Notre Dame on the road, and some torturous one-goal losses which played a role in tonight’s game,” said Hofstra coach Seth Tierney. “The worst word in my vocabulary is underachieving, and we underachieved this year.”

After defeating Notre Dame, the Pride dropped six of their last nine games, including three one-goal losses to St.John’s, Drexel, and UMass. Tierney admitted his team’s confidence level was not where it needed to be down the stretch, and took full responsibility for the disappointing season.

“We against some confident teams and we were trying to shake the one-goal loss orangutan that was hanging on us,” said Tierney. “It’s our jobs as coaches to change that.”

Down 5-1 at halftime, Hofstra came out of the locker room with energy. Adrian Sorichetti scored over a minute into the contest before both teams traded back to back goals. It would be Jack Forster and Danny Henneghan’s that would crush any momentum the Pride had built. The senior attackmen rang off five consecutive goals in the third quarter to go along with his teammate’s 8-11 dominance at the face-off dot. Henneghan finished 14-21 on the day.

“[Forster] was very efficient with his shooting effort and led our team as he has all year,” said Tambroni.

“Danny Hennighan did a great job at the X, winning us all of the face-offs in the third quarter,” said Forster. “It gave us great opportunities on the offensive end.”

It was a team effort overall that won Penn State the game. Goaltender Austin Kaut (10 saves) played exceptional in net and sparked some key transition goals. His defense also was good. They rarely gave the Pride offense any room to operate with. Tambroni complemented them for keeping them in the first half. The inconsistent midfield also played a role in today’s victory dodging hard on-and-off the ball. Tom LaCrosse (2g) was the standout and he was on the second midfield line.

Now the hard part begins as Penn State will look to win its first conference title. Tambroni feels his team must learn from its past failures and learn how to handle the postseason beast.

“We’ve been in this position for the third straight year; hosting the game at home. We have not done a good job at it,” said Tambroni. “We’re going to have to turn it around quickly and face a team that’s coming in with a lot of momentum.”

Adding to the challenge is exam week at Penn State. Still, Tambroni is confident his team will be focused and ready to go with the short turnaround.

For Hofstra, they’ll have a lot to examine in the off-season. The offense was an Achilles heel in the second half of the season. Tierney explained that his coaching staff had looked at plenty of film searching for a reason. He felt the team was snake bitten at times, but offered no excuses for the inability to finish.

“You gotta take 10,000 shots so that one chance goes in. If there’s any finger pointing, it comes at me. Those kids played hard,” said Tierney. “Sometimes it just didn’t drop. It’s a lame excuse but I’m saying it. That’s a good team up there in that locker room.”

If there was one bright spot this season, it was sophomore goaltender Chris Selva and the defense. This was the unit’s worst game of the season, but they played exceptional and gave the Pride a chance to win every game. Tierney hopes what his young goaltender accomplished doesn’t get lost in the mix.

“[Selva] had a magical year,” said Tierney. “I hope the rest of the country recognizes what he did because he’s an All-American. I’m awfully proud of him.”

The program will lose 10 seniors and three graduate students to graduation.